(i) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to novel polyol ether compounds, i.e. 1,3-bis-o-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)-2-o-alkyl (meaning a saturated or unsaturated group) glycerine (which may be hereinafter referred to simply as triglycerine monoalkyl ether). It also relates to a process for producing such ether compounds and cosmetics comprising the compounds.
(ii) Description of the Prior Art
As is known, a great number of polyhydric alcohol derivatives having ether bonds exist in natural fields, of which monoalkyl ethers of glycerine (hereinafter referred to simply as glyceryl ethers) are most popular. For example, lipids of fishes contain palmityl glyceryl ether (hereinafter referred to simply as chimyl alcohol), stearyl glyceryl ether (hereinafter referred to simply as batyl alcohol), and oleyl glyceryl ether (selakyl alcohol).
The glyceryl ethers have a w/o type emulsifying characteristic and thus wide utility as cosmetic substrates (Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Nos. 49-87612, 49-92239 and 52-12109, and Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-36260). It is also known that the glyceryl ethers have the pharmaceutical actions such as an acceleration effect for the blood cells formulation in the marrow, the antiphlogistic action, and the antitumor activity (Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 49-10724 and 52-18171).
In view of the fact that glyceryl ethers which have a number of characteristics are the unique type of surface active agent, attempts have been made to prepare, from polyhydric alcohols, polyol ether compounds similar in molecular structure (i.e. ether bonds and hydrophilic OH groups are contained in the molecule thereof) to glyceryl ethers (U.S. Pat. No. 2,258,892, Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-18170, and Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Nos. 53-137,905 and 54-145,224). The resulting polyol ether compounds which have a w/o type emulsification characteristic are utilized as cosmetic substrates (German Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2,455,287), or are used, aside from an ordinary emulsifier, as an antibacterial agent or antimold agent.
The present inventors paid out attention to the utility of such polyol ether compounds, and already found and proposed in our patent applications (Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Nos. 57-197235, 57-197236, 58-13530 and Japanese Patent Application No. 57-200587) that alkyl glycidyl ethers readily produced from alcohols were used to prepare mono and dialkyl ethers which are polyol ether compounds for use as substrates for various cosmetics.